Child&#39;s Car Seat Harness Storage System

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a child&#39;s car seat which may be used with or without an internal harness system, and, more specifically relates to a car seat with a means to store the internal harness system of the car seat when the car seat is being used without the harness system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a child's car seat which may be used with orwithout an internal harness system, and, more specifically, a means tostore an internal harness system of a child's car seat when the car seatis being used without the harness system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Children's car seats are well known and are used in combination with anauto seat belt to restrain children traveling in automobiles. Two typesof car seats commonly used are belted car seats and booster car seats.

Belted car seats are secured to an automobile seat with an automobileseat belt, combination lap/shoulder belt system, or a supplemental LATCH(an acronym which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren)belt attaching to special anchor points in an automobile. Belted carseats have an internal harness system that retains the child into theseat, generally a 5-point system with a crotch belt, left and right lapbelt sections and left and right shoulder belt sections joined at acentral buckle. Most internal harness systems also have a harness tie tolocate the shoulder belt portions on the child's shoulders. They aretypically used for children weighing between 22 and 40 or 65 pounds.

Booster car seats use only the combination automobile lap/shouldersystems passing in front of the child and booster seat to restrain thechild. They are typically used for children weighing 30 to 80 or 100pounds.

Some newer children's car seats are combination belted car seats andbooster car seats. These seats are used with the internal harness untilthe child is over a specified maximum weight and then they are used asbooster car seats.

In the past, it was necessary to remove the internal harness system whenconverting from use as a belted car seat to a booster car seat becausethe harness system buckles and harness tie would make uncomfortableseating for any occupant. It is easily seen that removing amulti-component harness system is inconvenient. But, more importantly,storing it apart from the car seat can lead to lost parts and misuse ofthe seat. Reinstallation can lead to improper installation, furthermisuse and inconvenience.

This invention makes using a car seat which converts from a belted seatto a booster seat and then back to a belted seat easier and safer bydescribing a means to store the harness system on the car seat such thatno components need to be removed and no uncomfortable disruptions of theseating surface occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a child's car seat with a seating surface, a backrestsurface and side surfaces. It also has a belt path through which anautomobile seat belt (not shown) or a LATCH belt (not shown) may bethreaded to secure the car seat to an automobile seat. It further has a5-point harness system with a crotch belt with an attached buckle body,a combination left lap and shoulder belt with a sliding latch plate, acombination right lap and shoulder belt with a sliding latch plate, andvarious other components to add to utility or comfort, e.g., cup holdersand arm rests. The seat is also equipped with a soft pad for comfort(not shown).

The crotch belt emerges from an opening in the seating surface. Thecombination lap/shoulder belts also emerge from openings in the seatingsurface, pass through sliding latch plates which removeably connect tothe crotch strap buckle, and then pass through openings in the seatback. A harness tie is secured to the shoulder belts above the slidinglatch plates and may be separable into left and right halves by afastening means.

The invention utilizes an additional opening in the seating surface nearto and in front of or optionally behind the crotch belt. This opening issized to allow passage of the crotch strap buckle through the openingfor storage, thereby minimizing the disruption of the essentiallyhorizontal seating surface to the elevation of the thickness of thecrotch belt when the crotch strap buckle is so stored. In addition,there are angled “U”-shaped slotted openings on both the left and rightsides of the seating area near to and between each of the seat openingsfrom which the lap belts emerge. Each of these openings is preferablyangled at about 45 degrees, although both larger and smaller angles areenvisioned to be within the scope of the invention. Each “U”-shapedslotted opening results in an attached central tongue. Additional“U”-shaped slotted openings are located near a rounded junction of theseat and back surfaces and generally between the first angled slottedopenings and the second slotted openings in the seat back through whichthe shoulder belts pass.

To store the 5-point harness, one disconnects the sliding latch platesfrom the crotch strap buckle and feeds the buckle body through theopening in the seating surface in front of (or optionally behind) thecrotch strap. Thus the crotch strap belt lies essentially flat on theseating surface and presents only a minimal deviation (limited to thethickness of the crotch strap) from the surface thereby maximizingseating comfort as the crotch strap buckle is stored beneath the seatingsurface.

Next, the sliding latch plates on the respective left and rightlap/shoulder belts are slid downward and into their respective openingsin the seat through which the lap belt emerges. They are thus storedbeneath the seating surface.

One lap belt (e.g., the left lap belt) is threaded into the nearest sideof the angled and slotted “U”-shaped opening and under the attachedtongue. It is then folded over the attached tongue and fed under theattached tongue of the additional slotted “U”-shaped opening and travelsonward. The right lap belt is similarly stored.

Finally, the harness tie is slid up or down on the shoulder belt untilit is positioned over the recessed auto belt path. If desired, theharness tie may be separated into its two halves if so provided to allowa straighter path for the shoulder belts.

Like the crotch belt, the combination lap/shoulder belts lie on thesurfaces of the seating surface and back surface and make no significantprotrusion above the surface so as to maximize comfort to an occupant.All hard sliding latch plates are beneath the seating surface and poseno comfort issue and the harness tie is over a recess and also poses nocomfort issue.

Thus, the 5-point harness is stored on the car seat without removal ofany components and the car seat may now be used as a booster car seat.When it is desired to reconvert to a belted car seat, e.g., for ayounger sibling or other second user, the process is simply reversed.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to produce a car seat whichcan interconvert between a seat which may be used with or without aninternal harness system in which a storage capacity exists beneath theseating surface which accommodates the buckle and latch plates of theinternal harness system.

It is another object of the invention to illustrate a car seat in whichthe internal harness system is capable of being stored in a manner whichminimizes any horizontal deviation above the plane of the seatingsurface, any such deviation being limited to the thickness of the beltof the harness system.

It is yet another object of this invention to allow easy storage of aninternal harness of a belted car seat when using the car seat as abooster car seat.

It is still yet another object of this invention to allow said storagewith no removal of components.

It is a further object of this invention to make internal belt storagecompletely and easily reversible.

It is a still further objective of this invention to maintain a smoothseating surface when an internal harness system is stored integrallywithin a car seat.

These and other objects of the present invention will become morereadily apparent from a reading of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals indicate similar parts, reference numerals using thedesignations “a” or “b” referring to mirror image components, and withfurther reference to the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the car seat used as a belted carseat illustrating the internal harness system of the car seat in its useposition;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the car seat used as a booster carseat illustrating the internal harness system of the car seat in itsstorage position; and

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of FIG.1 illustrating an alternative storage location for the crotch strap andbuckle and a raised tongue for internal harness belt path positioning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not forpurposes of limiting the same, the figures show a harness storage systemfor a child's car seat, as well as other inventions.

Looking now at FIG. 1 a child's car seat 10 includes a seating surface12, a backrest surface 14, left and right side surfaces 16 a and 16 b,recessed belt path 18 with left and right through openings 20 a and 20b. Car seat 10 may also have additional features such as moveableheadrest 22, armrests 24, or belt adjuster 26.

Car seat 10 is equipped with harness system 40 with crotch strap 42which has attached buckle body 44. Crotch strap 42 emerges from and issecured beneath opening 45 in seating surface 12. Harness system 40further has left and right lap belt portions 46 a, 46 b, connected leftand right shoulder belt portions 48 a, 48 b, and left and right slidinglatch plates 50 a, 50 b which are removeably secured to buckle body 44.Shoulder belt portions 48 a, 48 b may be equipped with harness tie 52which may be one-piece or separable into left and right halves. Shoulderbelt portions 48 a, 48 b pass through and are secured behind shoulderbelt openings 54 a, 54 b in backrest surface 14. Lap belt portions 46 a,46 b pass through and are secured behind left and right lap beltopenings 50 a and 50 b.

In one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, seating surface is alsopenetrated by crotch strap storage opening 80 and left and right angledand slotted U-shaped openings 82 a, 82 b generally between left andright lap belt openings 50 a and 50 b. In a second embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3, crotch strap storage opening 80 is not present,and opening 45 is enlarged as illustrated in opening 45′ and dimensionedto accommodate buckle 44. Looking at FIG. 2, rounded junction 84 ofseating surface 12 and back surface 14 is penetrated by left and righttransverse slotted U-shaped openings 86 a and 86 b generally alignedbetween angled and slotted U-shaped openings 82 a, 82 b and shoulderbelt openings 54 a and 54 b. Each slotted U-shaped opening has a centraltongue 88. As is known in the art, slotted U-shaped openings may berecesses instead of through openings and central tongue 88 may be raisedabove the seating surface as an alternative construction as illustratedin FIG. 3.

Car seat 10 may be used as a belted car seat as described above and asshown in FIG. 1. In this case, car seat 10 is secured to an automobileseat (not shown) by means of an automobile seat belt or lap/seat beltcombination or LATCH belt passing through recessed belt path 18 andopenings 20 a and 20 b (the automobile seat belt not shown). A child(not shown) is then secured with harness system 40.

Car seat 10 may also be used as a booster car seat by not using harnesssystem 40 and by routing automobile lap belt (not shown) across boosterbelt recesses 90 a and 90 b and auto shoulder belt through shoulder beltrecess 92 a or 92 b (illustrated in FIG. 2) as appropriate. In thiscase, auto lap/shoulder belt retains both car seat 10 and child.

When harness system 40 is not used, it may be stored internally on carseat 10 without removal or disassembly as depicted in FIG. 2. To achievethis storage, left sliding latch 50 a is disengaged from central buckle44 and slid along left lap belt portion 46 a and into left lap beltopening 50 a. Left lap belt portion 46 a is then fed under centraltongue 88 of left angled U-shaped opening 82 a and folded over samecentral tongue 88 and then fed under central tongue 88 of lefttransverse opening 86 a. A like action is performed with correspondingright components. Harness tie 52 is slid to the general location ofrecessed belt path 18 where it will not rest on backrest surface 14.Attached buckle 44 of crotch strap 42 is fed into crotch strap storageopening 80.

It can be seen that harness assembly 40 is stored internally on car seat10 with no removal of components and with no hardware resting on seatingsurface 12 or backrest surface 14 thus maintaining a comfortable seatingsurface. It can also be seen that the storage is easily reversible andthat no components have been removed or disconnected from their normalattachments, except, of course, the normal disengagement of the latchplates 50 from attached buckle 44.

As illustrated in the preferred embodiment of this invention, left andright U-shaped slots 82 a, 82 b for left and right lap belt portions 46a, 46 b are preferably shown as angled with respect to a centerlongitudinal axis through a middle of car seat 10. The angle can rangefrom 0° (i.e., parallel) to 90° (normal to the axis), more preferablyfrom 20° to 70°, still more preferably from 30° to 60°, and mostpreferably from 40° to 50°. Similarly, left and right transverse slottedopenings 86 a, 86 b, for left and right shoulder belts 48 a, 48 b, arepreferably normal to the central longitudinal axis, i.e., 90°, althoughthe invention is not limited to such. However, the range of angularityis more limited than that for left and right U-shaped slots 82 a, 82 band more typically ranges from 20° to 90°, more preferably from 45° to90°, and most preferably 90°. It is recognized in this art, that whenangle measurements are provided, that the degree of precision in eitherthe manufacture or in the measurement thereof is approximate to withinabout 5°.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued. Moreover, the description and illustration of the inventionis by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited tothe exact details shown or described. This invention has been describedin detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof, including therespective best modes for carrying out each embodiment. It shall beunderstood that these illustrations are by way of example and not by wayof limitation.

1. A car seat with internal storage for a 5-point harness system whichcomprises: a seating surface having a first opening sized to accommodateat least a crotch belt, said crotch belt having a buckle at an end, anda pair of second openings for a left and right harness belt, said pairof second openings sized to permit ingress and egress of at least aportion of one end of said harness belt and a latch plate slidablyaffixed to each of said left and right harness belts; a back surfacehaving a pair of openings, each sized to accommodate one opposed end ofsaid left and a right harness belts, said back surface having adepressed transverse region across said back surface with a pair ofopenings at each side of said depressed region of said back surfacedimensioned to accommodate a vehicle seat belt therethrough; and saidseating surface having a pair of opposed first guide means, each firstguide means accepting one of said harness belts.
 2. The seat of claim 1wherein said seating surface has a third opening dimensioned toaccommodate said crotch belt buckle and at least a portion of saidcrotch belt for storage.
 3. The seat of claim 1 wherein said seatfurther comprises a pair of opposed second guide means interposedbetween said pair of first guide means on said seat surface and saidback surface pair of openings, each pair of second guide means acceptingone of said harness belts.
 4. The seat of claim 1 wherein each of saidfirst guide means is a U-shaped slot.
 5. The seat of claim 3 whereineach of said second guide means is a U-shaped slot.
 6. The seat of claim3 wherein each of said first guide means is angled with respect to alongitudinal axis of said seat.
 7. The seat of claim 6 wherein saidangle of said pair of first guide means is between approximately 30° and60° to a longitudinal axis of said car seat; and said angle of said pairof second guide means is approximately 90° to said longitudinal axis. 8.The seat of claim 1 wherein said depressed transverse regionaccommodates a harness tie when said 5-point harness system is stored.9. A process for storing a car seat harness system, said car seat havinga seating surface, a back surface, a pair of left and right sidesurfaces, and an internal 5-point harness system wherein said harnesssystem is stored when not in use without removing any components fromsaid car seat and wherein said storage is achieved by the steps of:feeding a combination lap/shoulder belt under a first slotted and angledtab; folding said belt over said tab; and feeding said belt under asecond slotted tab positioned transversely to a longitudinal axis ofsaid car seat.
 10. The process of claim 9 which further comprises thestep of feeding a crotch strap with a buckle through an opening in saidseating surface.
 11. The process of claim 10 which further comprises thestep of feeding each slidable latch plate affixed to each of saidlap/shoulder belts through a pair of openings in said seating surface.12. The process of claim 9 wherein said 5-point harness is equipped witha movable harness tie affixed to said lap/shoulder belts and whereinsaid process further comprises the step of moving said harness tie intoa recessed transverse area disposed within said back surface of saidseat.
 13. A car seat with internal storage for a 5-point harness systemwhich comprises: a seating surface having a first opening sized toaccommodate a crotch belt, said crotch belt having a buckle at an end,and a pair of second openings for a left and right belt, said pair ofsecond openings sized to permit ingress and egress of at least a portionof one end of said harness belt and a latch plate slidably affixed toeach of said left and right harness belts; a back surface having a pairof openings, each sized to accommodate one opposed end of said left anda right harness belts, said back surface having a depressed transverseregion across said back surface with a pair of openings at each side ofsaid depressed region of said back surface dimensioned to accommodate avehicle seat belt therethrough; said seating surface having a thirdopening dimensioned to accommodate said crotch belt buckle and at leasta portion of said crotch belt for storage; said seating surface having apair of opposed first guide means, each first guide means accepting oneof said harness belts; and said seating surface having a pair of opposedsecond guide means interposed between said pair of first guide means onsaid seat surface and said back surface pair of openings, each secondguide means accepting one of said harness belts.
 14. The seat of claim13 wherein each of said first guide means is a U-shaped slot about atongue positioned within said guide means.
 15. The seat of claim 14wherein each of said first guide means is angled with respect to alongitudinal axis of said seat.
 16. The seat of claim 15 wherein saidangle of said pair of first guide means is between approximately 30° and60° to a longitudinal axis of said car seat; and said angle of said pairof second guide means is approximately 90° to said longitudinal axis.17. The seat of claim 13 wherein said depressed transverse regionaccommodates a harness tie when said 5-point harness system is stored.18. A car seat with internal storage for a 5-point harness system whichcomprises: a seating surface having a first opening sized to accommodatea crotch belt and a crotch belt buckle affixed to one end of said crotchbelt, and a pair of second openings for a left and right belt, said pairof second openings sized to permit ingress and egress of at least aportion of one end of said harness belt and a latch plate slidablyaffixed to each of said left and right harness belts; a back surfacehaving a pair of openings, each sized to accommodate one opposed end ofsaid left and a right harness belts, said back surface having adepressed transverse region across said back surface with a pair ofopenings at each side of said depressed region of said back surfacedimensioned to accommodate a vehicle seat belt therethrough; and saidseating surface having a pair of opposed first guide means, each firstguide means accepting one of said harness belts.
 19. The seat of claim18 wherein said seat further comprises a pair of opposed second guidemeans interposed between said pair of first guide means on said seatsurface and said back surface pair of openings, each pair of secondguide means accepting one of said harness belts.
 20. The seat of claim18 wherein each of said first guide means is a U-shaped slot.
 21. Theseat of claim 19 wherein each of said second guide means is a U-shapedslo.
 22. The seat of claim 18 wherein each of said first guide means isangled with respect to a longitudinal axis of said seat.
 23. The seat ofclaim 22 wherein said angle of said pair of first guide means is betweenapproximately 30° and 60° to a longitudinal axis of said car seat; andsaid angle of said pair of second guide means is approximately 90° tosaid longitudinal axis.
 24. The seat of claim 18 wherein said depressedtransverse region accommodates a harness tie when said 5-point harnesssystem is stored.